Tucked away in the innermost crevices of the second floor of Shopwise Cubao is Fragrance Factory…read more Passing by its posters near the walkalators, you'd hardly notice it walking through the Shopwise-SM bridgeway, and would unlikely bother to even really give the place a look, but it does have hidden gems for the more astute shopper. If you have the chutzpah to make your own scents or cologne, then surely this is a place you should visit. They have all the necessary ingredients for you to concoct your own fragrance (or approximate those of more recognizable brands ;) ) to use in perfume, hand sanitizers or whatever else you can come up with, to give as presents or giveaways. But to those who don't have such lofty goals, they have stuff like liquid dispensers or spray bottles that have their own everyday purposes, or essential oils to use for your own linen spray, diffusers, or air fresheners.

Going natural seems to be the latest trend in body and skin care. One of the emerging brands in the…read moremarket is Zenutrients. Its products are not available in supermarkets like Human Nature. However, it has kiosks located in several malls. Having visited several malls all over the city, I've seen a number of its branches. But, the store where I usually buy my Zenutrients products is the one in SM Masinag. Located in Rizal but just a short jeepney ride from Marikina, SM Masinag is the branch nearest my place. To say that the price range of their products is cheap or expensive is quite difficult. It seems the affordability depends on the product that you want to buy. There are some cheap finds like the eye cream which costs only around PhP 300. I consider that affordable because eye care products, except Garnier Eye Roll-On, is already in the PhP 800 to PhP 5000 range. My favorites, however, are the Gugo Shampoo and the Gugo Conditioner. The regular size is less than a hundred (around PhP 75-85, if I remember correctly), but the big size is at PhP 900. The size is really big yet I can buy a big drugstore brand shampoo or conditioner and it wouldn't cost that much. But, I have to attest to the quality of both Gugo Shampoo and Gugo Conditioner. I bought them at a time when my hair was quite stiff and dry. I've tried several brands but only Zenutrients gugo products were able to alleviate the problem. If you have budget, you can go for the big size. But, if you just need a hair-saver, you can buy the small size and, in the succeeding months, alternate it with your other shampoo or conditioner.

This is yet another street in Manila with a special purpose. I recently discovered Bambang when my…read morebalikbayan friend asked me where to buy scrub suits for work (she's a nurse in the US). I volunteered to take her to Divisoria, but a friend of hers told her about Bambang, a street full of stores selling medical supplies and equipment. So off we went. The street of Bambang wasn't as busy as that of Divisoria, with fewer commercial establishments, but at the middle of the street is where you'll see the long line of stores selling different hospital supplies. The items there can go from brand new to second hand (I remember my hubby's comment about an old hospital bed, "Parang may namatay na dyan eh.") but all at a bargained price. My friend was so happy with her scrub suits in different colors and designs costing 300 pesos a pair (compared to a mall price of 700 pesos). What made the trip worthwhile for me were the nebulizers. For households with little kids, nebulizers are a must-have. But the most basic ones cost over two thousand pesos in malls and drug stores. In Bambang, you can get one for 850 pesos. Not bad, right? We have a big, heavy and durable nebulizer at home (costs over five-thousand bucks, a worthy investment though) but I'll probably be back soon to buy a more lightweight, travel-sized one.

Bambang Street was just a minute by foot from where I used to live. But I never realized the…read morepopularity of the place until I moved to Quezon City. My friends used to beg me to take them to that street where they can buy all the good ukay-ukay stuff. I was left puzzled not knowing what exactly they were talking about. Apparently, Bambang Street was an institution. Aside from discount stores with really good deals on some of the best branded items, Bambang also offers a wide array of medical supplies with stores located one after the other. Located so close to the street are plenty of public and private hospitals that can explain the influx of medical supplies and equipment. They also sell them in wholesale prices so you can be sure to get a good deal with anything you buy. Make sure though to take care of your belongings as it can get a little rowdy at times.

I don't know why, but my wife has a love affair with Bath & Bodyworks' hand sanitizers. She has a…read morepile of these things at home and every time she has extra money, she buys one or two more bottles at Vitamix, located at the second floor of Glorietta. Sometimes, when I head to my favorite comicbook place, she would ask to be left at the kiosk to take a look if they have new stocks of her favorite Warm Vanilla hand sanitizer. I understand her tendency to hoard these things because she does not only use them but she also gives them as gifts to family and friends. Just the other day, she again asked me to buy a couple of hand sanitizers from Vitamix. When I went there, I realized that the kiosk doesn't only sell hand sanitizers. They actually have other Bath & Bodyworks items such as lotions, colognes, and hand soaps. The funny thing is all these beauty products aren't even their main business. I didn't notice it before, but their bread and butter items are actually imported herbal supplements and multivitamins. Now I know why they are called Vitamix.

I went with a friend of mine once in this place called Vitamix because my friend wanted to get a…read morespecial kind of supplement he needs to take alongside with him constantly working out. I got dragged to go here and well in this place you will see a long of products that are of herbal foundation (meaning they are all healthy herbal supplements). They are definitely all imported products and for the ones who go here regularly it is not pricey but for someone like me, I found it to be pricey. As from the herbal supplements, I notice they have a lot of Bath and Bodyworks products like body sprays, hand sanitizers, hand soaps and lotions. If I went here during my phase of hoarding Bath and Bodyworks products (years ago), this place would be my best friend! You know what I find a bit weird? They have bread and butter products which is so far from the beauty and healthy products! Overall though, this place could help you especially if you are into herbal medications.

Edeng's in the Gift Market section of the Market! Market! mall is a very convenient one-stop-shop…read morefor all things fun! If you are looking for party supplies such as toys, balloons, plastic plates and cutlery, disposables, giveaways, costumes and other related merchandise, you need not go to Divisoria to scour the endless stores. Edeng's has pretty much everything you will need under one roof, so it saves you a trip to the hot, crowded and chaotic shopping district. At least here, it is inside the mall premises so you don't have to suffer the heat or the humidity of the outdoor, or poorly airconditioned stalls in Divisoria. For my friend's birthday surprise, I was able to cop a few balloons, cake toppers, plastic tiaras. candles and loot bag goodies at such a cheap price. For my niece's Nutrition Month celebration parade at her pre-school, we were able to find a cute costume which saved us a lot of time (than if we'd have done it from scratch).

If you need affordable toys, party decor, favors and stationery but you can't be bothered with a…read moretrip to Divisoria, then Edeng's Toy Center in Market! Market! is your best bet. For my daughter's first birthday, I scoured the streets and malls of Divisoria for the cutest and cheapest party favors and prizes I could find. But two weeks before the party, I felt that I still needed more prizes for games, but a Divisoria trip was out of the picture. So I went to the Edeng's branch in Taguig instead. I'm glad that I was able to bring my daughter with me because the place was airconditioned and not as crowded as the main branch. The little girl enjoyed looking at all the toy displays. They have a lot, ranging from the rather cheap to the more expensive ones. You get what you pay for though, so the moderately priced ones have, of course, better quality. Speaking of prices, expect their items to cost higher than the one in Divi, but still more economical than mall prices.

At first you might just pass this shawl shop right at the main entrance of Cash & Carry Mall, but…read moreonce you look closely and dig into the mounds of shawls and scarves they have on display you'll want to buy just everything! They're a bunch of affordable everyday scarves and shawls with a great variety of designs and colors. Although it's not a designer brand, this shop has some really nice, classy designs you can use with office wear and the like. They're not just those tiangge-type designs. They have different pashminas, varying in size, color, designs, and patterns. And since everything is quite affordable, you can buy several all at once. The items are great for personal use or for giving as gifts to your girlfriends, moms, and titas!

There are plenty of ukay ukay stores all over Metro Manila, but this one located at Plaze Lacson in…read moredowntown Sta Cruz, Manila is one of the better ones. For one thing, the place is quite cool. Not air-conditioned cool, but rather comfortably cooled by electric fans and enough room to move. This is one of the shortcomings of most second hand stores. They tend to put too much of their wares causing visitors to feel claustrophobic. Not JHOLDEN. The place gives customers all the room they need to move around comfortably without bumping into each other. More importantly, however, the quality of the clothes, bags and shoes that they sell is quite good. I can't really comment on the ladies' wear, but I did notice that the men's shoes were in good shape. There was a decent collection of both leather and rubber shoes. Then there are the jackets. What they had was pretty impressive. I would have bought a couple but it was a hot summer day. Most of their clothes are in the P100 to P200 price range, so very affordable. If you have no qualms about buying and wearing second hand clothes and shoes, then this place is worth visiting.

I had accidentally placed an order online noticing that their prices were double of what I could…read morefind on Amazon. I contacted them immediately to cancel my order and they refused to refund it to my original payment method and only to store credit even though the item was literally just purchased and no processing or shipping was done. I told them I'd refuse the package as well but they shipped it regardless. Extremely shady business practice

Rustan's makati is my favorite place to get my luxury finds- bathroom floor mat, coffee machine,…read morecocktail dress, candles, neck pillows, etc.. I also enjoy the 4th floor lounge for Clarins facial treatment.